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Ottawa, Ont.
Politicians, Christians debate faith in public life


There should be a stronger religious influence on Canada’s public life, according to most of the speakers at the “Faith and Public Life” conference held in late October in Kingston, Ont.

The conference was organized by Queen’s Theological College and Citizens for Public Justice, a Christian advocacy group, with funding from an American foundation.

Senator Doug Roche, a Roman Catholic and former Tory MP, urged people to press for a social justice agenda, saying, “I ran and won in four federal elections, and the number of times I was asked for my views on the over-arching themes of disarmament and development could be counted on the fingers of one hand.” Our culture is “overwhelmingly self-centred”, he said.

Bill Blaikie, a United Church minister and an NDP MP, denounced the way left-wingers quote Roman Catholic bishops’ statements on the economy but ignore those on abortion, while right-wingers quote those on abortion and ignore those on the economy. “Let them be taken seriously, which is not to say uncritically, on both abortion and the economy.” Young people today, he said, “are looking for something that goes beyond the increasingly empty rhetoric of choice [and] a consumer view of values.”

Kathryn Fournier, a status Indian and United Church member, said many white Canadian Christians have worked hard on the recent “Jubilee” campaign to press for debt cancellation for poor countries far away but will not even consider a “Jubilee” campaign in relation to Canada’s aboriginal people. She felt the unwillingness of white Christians to listen to the enormous historic wrong done to the aboriginal people was a reflection of how much they are “in bondage”.

Some issues brought out differences. How important is it to have the Lord’s Prayer in public schools, the House of Commons and other public functions? Also, what should the role of other religions be?

Bruce Clemenger of Evangelical Fellowship of Canada called for clarification on the meaning of pluralism. Does it mean, he asked, that religion has no place in public life, or that we are to develop a “no-name” brand of religion, or that all religions can express their views?

A few people called for “inclusive” prayers that are not explicitly Christian, Jewish, Islamic or Hindu. Others said interacting with people of other religions can lead to a deeper understanding of our own faith rather than to a “no-name” religiosity.

Claude Ryan, a long-time politician and former member of the Quebec national assembly, said that while our political process should be pluralistic in the sense of being open to all, Christians should be careful not to allow their commitment to pluralism replace their Christian faith.

One person recounted that in England a Jewish parliamentarian voted in favour of a “significantly Christian” curriculum for public schools, saying “‘My faith is more secure if you take yours seriously.’ ”

Don Posterski of World Vision Canada outlined three principles for pluralism: that the rights we seek for ourselves should also be extended to others; that the common good requires all of us to surrender some rights; and that we need to collectively discern what is good. Such collective discerning could save us from the postmodern view that all “values” are equal. He argued that greed and generosity are not equal, neither are promiscuity and covenant-keeping.

Janet Sommerville, general secretary of the Canadian Council of Churches, said we need to do much more work in our own communities if we are to have a message for the larger society. Television has promoted two false principles. One is consumerism, meaning “buy this and you’ll be happy”. The other is choice without moral constraints. Many young people, even from Christian families, do not consider waiting with sexual relations until they get married, and too many married people disregard the commandment, “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife”.

Mary Jo Leddy, a Roman Catholic, cautioned against feverish activity or a stance of simply being angry at all the things that are wrong. She suggested considering the Christians who, when the Roman empire was falling apart, began to build alternative communities. She noted that some small groups, like the disciples of Jesus, had an influence that went far beyond anything they could have imagined because of the power of God at work in them.

Many spoke quite personally. Daniel Turp, an MP for the Bloc Québécois, said he tried to show his Christian faith by respecting all his constituents regardless of their concerns and would not participate in the shouting matches in the House of Commons. Diane Ablonczy, a Reform MP, noted how Preston Manning had been criticized in many newspapers for his recent remarks about his faith. Claude Ryan recalled that his comments years ago about being called by God to public life had been widely ridiculed.

The conference was attended by 300 people. Many spoke strongly and seemed to be on common ground regarding the issue of faith and public life. Many noted that our society has become less willing to listen to religious voices; the secularization trend is continuing; and popular “spirituality” does not necessarily provide direction, and may be just one more cover for selfishness. Moreover, there is a widening gap between the rich and the poor, making it both more difficult and more urgent to work at building a society where all are respected.  – Bill Janzen

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Last modified January 11, 2000.

© 2000 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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